Haiku
Surrender
If life knocks you down
Surrender and turn your face
Up to see the stars

If life knocks you down
Surrender and turn your face
Up to see the stars

for the things that come to settle in my hand
like feathers from the sky
dropped from passing birds
these gifts from somewhere
people who arrive
with the answer to a question
with skill to do what’s needed
with words to soothe the beast
Opportunities that rise up exactly
as my hand begins to reach
for the next challenge
So very grateful
that the flow of life around
brings all this wonder to my feet

Lost in your head again
weaving your own heroes tale
waiting for the winner’s laurel
there is no race here
no challenge to win
this is life
we all work
we all create
and there are no banquets
and acceptance speeches
for making a home
or feeding your family
this is life
the award
is the company you keep
people who mirror back
what you send their way
light or dark
we chose
every day
to do it the
easy way
or the hard way
and we find
at the end of our journey-
the dragon we slew
to win the final crown
was the dragon in the mirror

from today’s writing prompt, “small joys”
Poem #17 of 30
sound of their voices
speaking of nothing large
dreaming together
of things yet to come
smell of baking bread
made with love
on a quiet morning
while others sleep in
soft sound at my ear
whiskers brush my face
little fur child
melts my heart
music coaxed from strings
tune aligned with soul
I can set free
These small joys-
daily flowers in my life

Eleven Word Poem
#17 of 30
Careful who you follow
they may be skipping along
to Mordor

Haiku
loud motor running
i forgive the sofa scratch
my fine house lion

it can’t tell the difference, you know
that part of your brain
that sends the alert out
to fight or fly
so, every single day
when you wake up
and fill your head
with news that terrifies you
you may as well have
left the adrenaline faucet
on full blast
and what happens
when you shut off
that supercharged jet fuel
coursing through your body
and dare to relax for a minute?
that’s right-
you sleep like the dead
and wake up tired.
cuz it doesn’t
know the difference between
immediate threat
and the 9,000th message
with the same information-
of course you’re tired
take a nap
and turn the damn tv off

…and when you tell my story-
the one where you cast me as the villain-
do you leave out the parts that don’t fit your script?
do you tell them of love and laughing
do you say how large a piece of heart we shared?
do you mention midnight phone calls
and the shoulder that was yours for the asking?
or will that ruin your play-
if they know you loved me as fiercely as I loved you?
you wanted to write a thriller
but wrote a tragedy instead
do they know?

Haiku
Especially when
The words are so important
We must pry them out

NaPoWriMo Poem #11 of 30

Clutter on the counter
Shoes piled at the door
Now it feels like someone lives here
There’s a sense of something more
Someone’s making coffee
Cooking food
And doing chores
Sounds of life around me
Cats are stretched out on the floor
Where there once were plans for someday
Now I’m holding something sure